Popular two-woman show comes back to Midland

Published 6:00 pm, Saturday, March 26, 2005

In 1957, "Walkin' After Midnight" on the Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts Broadcast gave Patsy Cline her first big break. In 1963, the 30-year-old singer died in a plane crash near Camden, Tenn.

Her "Sweet Dreams" live on in her music and through her fans, particularly Louise Seger who heard her perform and immediately was awed by her talent. In the weeks, months and years that followed, Seger called KIKK Houston radio throughout the day from home and work to request Patsy Cline records. Then early in May of 1961, she learned from DJ Hal Harris Cline would be playing the Esquire Ballroom.

Thus began a friendship that years after Cline's death led to the stage show "Always… Patsy Cline," which is coming to the Yucca Theatre, 208 N. Colorado Ave., Friday and Saturday. Curtain is at 8 p.m. The performances, being presented by Amarillo Little Theatre, are a fund-raiser for Midland Rape Crisis and Children's Advocacy Center. Tickets, priced at $25, may be purchased by calling (432) 967-4592.

The popular two-woman show, which has played Midland and Odessa a number of times, again stars Tammy Hysmith as Cline and Cindi Bulla as Seger.

"We did the show for about seven years, and then, honestly, we were on hiatus," said Allen Shankles, managing artistic director of the Amarillo Little Theatre. "We closed the show we thought for good in September of '03. But we've gotten a lot of requests to bring it back. It was a good money maker for us. You never like to pass those things up, and the two cast members who have been with it for so long were pestering me to get it back up.

"So, we revived the show, and put it on our main stage the end of January, did sold-out performances again so we are back in business."

Cline fans will be pleased to know the music in the show is "essentially pretty much exactly the same as it was," Shankles said. "Of course, one of the great things about the show is that it's never the same from night to night because it's live theater and also because the woman who plays Louise interacts with the audience every night. She ends up doing some improvisation. Every performance has its own feel to it because of that."

Many fans have seen the show more than once. Shankles attributes the return business to the music and to the actress playing Seger.

"People really relate to this Louise character," Shankles said. "She kind of plugs into each audience every night, and they feel like they are having a conversation with her, that she's talking right to them."